Mispicks cost individual warehouses $389,000 per year

A single mispick in a warehouse or DC might not seem like a big deal, but over the course of a year, the cost of such errors can quickly add up. According to the results of a survey conducted in late 2012 for Intermec, a developer of mobile data-capture solutions, a single mispick costs a warehouse approximately $22. Based on the average number of errors reported by respondents to the survey, mispicks in a single distribution center amount to $389,000 annually, on average.

More than half (52 percent) of the 250 respondents reported a pick accuracy rate of less than 97 percent. On top of that, 19 percent do not measure the costs of mispicks in any way, which suggests that the impact of such errors on the supply chain may be even greater than reported, Intermec said.

Survey respondents indicated that they consider achieving high pick accuracy rates to be key to improving profit margins. Forty-seven percent said that picking was an area where cost savings could easily be achieved. In addition, 59 percent of respondents said they were using a "perfect order" metric to gauge picking accuracy and identify areas for improvement.

The research surveyed 250 supply chain, warehouse, and distribution managers in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Respondents came from a range of industries, including retail, manufacturing, distribution, logistics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, wholesale, and consumer goods.

We could all use some positive news and thankfully we have some for you: Many signs are showing that the freight markets are starting to recover.
As we mentioned last week, April was one of the worst months for freight activity in over 26 years. But in looking at the data for May, we are starting to see a much...